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Statutory requirement for fixed element of Starter Homes would have decimated delivery of traditional affordable housing

Date: 10/2/2017

Planning magazine reports general welcome to the government's retreat from plans to oblige councils to ensure a fixed element of Starter Homes on housing sites, although some see continued uncertainty over the government's new approach to affordable provision.

David Evans, a Past President of the Planning Officers Society and a member of the DCLG's technical advisory group on Starter Homes, welcomed this shift. "A statutory requirement would have decimated delivery of traditional affordable housing," he said. "The new policy expectation has the degree of flexibility needed for councils to deal with local needs."

Elsewhere, the white paper prescribes a 15-year period during which some or all of the discount must be repaid on resale of Starter Homes and a requirement for applicants to take out a 25 per cent mortgage, thus ruling out cash purchasers. "The POS has been concerned about abuse of the system, but these requirements reduce that danger," said Evans.